Archive for the ‘politics’ Category
The Professor as Policy Maker
To watch the rise and fall of Alan Greenspan’s stock with the public is nothing short of spectacular. The former Federal Reserve chairman was revered as a savant gracing us with his unparalleled intellect that could keep the economy running strong. Then, in the lightening fast manner that only public opinion is capable of, he was roundly condemned for not doing [...]
Obama Unveils New Tax Brackets
This chart (click to enlarge) from the WSJ shows we’re still a long way off from the tax burdens of year’s past:
Obama’s new proposed tax rates will increase for those who are married and filing jointly, starting at $235,000 in taxable income. The first point that caught my eye was that $235K is well below [...]
A.I.G. Blowback
Blowback is a term coined by the CIA to describe the unintended consequences of military operations. Virtually every covert operation suffers from some degree of blowback - it is simply impossible to understand in advance the innumerable implications of certain courses of action.
Some of those at A.I.G. are now experiencing a situation best described as political blowback. The federal [...]
CO2 as the moral equivalent of financial derivatives
Tonight at the New York Public Library I attended a discussion between award-winning columnist and author Thomas Friedman and Nandan Nilekani, Co-Chairman and one of the founders of Infosys Technologies, Ltd. These are two immensely interesting and well-spoken men, so I jumped at the opportunity to hear them live.
The discussion at first centered on well-known facts: the [...]
War on Words: Stimulus versus Bailout
A bailout has a negative connotation. It’s easily equated with a handout - which some view as an act of giving something to someone who doesn’t necessarily deserve it.
Stimulus, on the other hand, has a significantly more positive connotation. We say certain effects are stimulative, which is a word we also associate with coffee, [...]
More than a stimulus
The stimulus bill wasn’t quite enough. There had been criticism that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act didn’t address the heart of the current crisis - falling housing prices. Now we know why: yesterday President Obama unveiled a $275 billion plan dedicated to this very cause.
Currently, one in ten houses are in some stage of [...]
